School teachers and other things

Molders of the Future

Most folks worth a memory ,

Have statues made of stone,

But teachers their monuments,

In flesh and bone.

The student that goes on in life

And makes a famous name,

Admits unto the heart of it all

Some teacher shares the fame.

I never hear a pianist

With talent true and rare,

But in the shadows I can see

A teacher standing there,

No skilled doctor ever saved

The life of human kind

Without the seeds that some teacher planted

Within that fertile mind.

All lawyers ,dentists ,engineers,

All who are beloved by men,

Remember what some teacher taught

And quote it now and then.

No actor ,writer, carpenter,

No boxer you’ll allow,

Pursue a chosen field

Some teacher tells them how.

Yes, teachers mold their monument ,

They build them year by year…

Not like ancient pyramids

So awesome and austere,

Which time in time wear away ;

But, spurning solid stone,

Our teachers mold eternally

In living flesh and bone.

__ Margaret Rorke

This week, I am going through my boxes of pictures and well-preserved albums of others and myself. Some date back years ago. Soon it will be time to divide and share. Family, friends and classmates have been generous with their pictures down through the years. Some people in my load of photos I fail to identify. I will need free time and research to identify the lot.

Class pictures of relatives, classmates and forever friends add extra viewing pleasure and happy memories…

As I gaze at those old pictures and their teachers and mine many thoughts run rampant through my head...

I follow my path from first grade through twelve and on to other educational pursuits.

I graduated from Brazil High School in May of 1957. During my formative years, I dreamed of advancing my education. By the time I reached my senior year, I knew that was just a dream.

Money was not talking at my house. I was very happy when Smart Appearance Beauty College gave me a scholarship. I considered that good fortune a stepping stone to my future. I did well with the course study and technique under the guidance of Helen Edwards and Nell Gabbard. They liked my work and I admired them. I wore my crisp white uniforms proudly and all of my friends and family experienced my clips finger waves and curls. Then one week before state board exam Paul and I eloped and I gained another teacher, kind and good.

I am extremely grateful for all of the framers in my life , including my teachers. I can honestly say I admired and respected each and everyone of them.

Last month our grandsons, Daniel James Risk and Michael Allan Risk lost their paternal grandfather, Robert James Risk. Jim was a 1945 graduate of Milan High School and Indiana University.

Dr. Risk served as superintendent of Valparaiso Community Schools from 1970 until 1990.

Many in Brazil will remember that fine educator; a leader, our teacher, and a friend or neighbor. Jim’s wife of 61 years, Rosemary Risk passed away June 23, 2013. Six children survive. The Risk’s eldest son Bill is the boy’s father.

Reach me at by phone at 317-286-7352.